119 The Fungeon

The sky seemed grey, and the dread seemed to have taken over the whole place, the plants all dead rotten with layers of fungi over them.

"The dungeon must be near now," Ryu said as he remembered the villager told him the nearer he'll get to the dungeon, the deader the forest would get,

"Big brother, I will kill the boss this time," Jue said, filled with excitement, and Rafa spoke,

"Ryu, the air is dirty," as she sneezed,

"We will wear masks once we reach the dungeon, Rafa," Ryu replied, and Rafa stared at him for a while and finally spoke.

"It's Rafa big sister,"

"Yes, Rafa big sister," Ryu replied as he thought,

'She really never misses it once…' and finally, he looked in the direction he had been trying to look away from since they entered the fungi area,

"Oii, will you keep having that expression on your face?" Ryu asked Ardian, who looked as if he was returning from a funeral, and he replied,

"I cannot help it. This many trees and plants are crying here…. can you not hear it," as he said this, the flower halo he wore on his head wilted away.

'It is creepy as heck, dude!!' Ryu thought. But he just sighed, looking forward towards Rafa again as he thought for a while and spoke,

"You know it is better to think of a way to kick those Fungi bastard's ass rather than mourning over already dead plants. "

"What… what do you mean?" Ardian asked with a hint of despair in his voice, and Ryu replied,

"See, if you keep crying over what is already a lost cause… more stuff will keep going down the drain without you being able to catch it, so catch those things which haven't reached the drain rather than mourning for those that are already all the way inside it."

Ardian thought hard for a bit and spoke,

"I get it" Ardian's eyes sparkled with resolve and understanding that he could not be sad over the trees they had already lost. If he gives his all to conquer the dungeon, he'll automatically save many who have yet to die.

Ryu just nodded as he thought, 'Well, at least he'll keep his eyes and ears open with this,' and lazily closed his eyes for a small nap.

After half an hour, they finally reached the dungeon. No plants, humans, or animals were present nearby. All that was present there was an almost rotten tree with an opening in its roots; the mushrooms surrounded the base of the roots,

"It is strange…." Ardian spoke suddenly, as if in a trance,

"What is strange, Ardian?" Ryu asked, and Jue, too focused

"I mean, this tree is being eaten too, but it is not crying. It is like there is no noise at all,"

"Welcome to the worlds of normal humans," Ryu replied to such Ardian and walked towards the gate, not in the mood to hear I can talk to plants again,

"It is rude, you murderer!!" Ardian shouted, and Ryu just passed everyone the handkerchief mask they made for the dungeon. Apparently, the fungi pores can cause lung inflammation.

'Well, it sure paid to visit the village, or we would be here without any knowledge or preparation,' thought Ryu as he decided to visit a nearby settlement no matter which dungeon they tried to raid.

"Is it too small, Rafa big sister?" Ryu asked Rafa as she was struggling to wear the mask. She handed it to Ryu and sat in front of him, her tail shaking, and Ryu realized what she meant.

"You should learn how to tie a knot, Rafa big sister," said Ryu as he tied the mask on Rafa's face and Rafa replied,

"Ryu can just tie knots for me…. And maybe pat me too" Ryu patted her a bit on the head, and she happily stood thinking,

'Ryu is nice. I will kill all monsters for him!!'

'I hope I can kill and get some fresh experience,' thought Ryu.

"I will remain behind…. I am no good at physical fighting," said Ardian as they finally took their step into the dungeon.

The dungeon seemed to be a straight passage. There was haze all around them due to spores in the air.

Ryu, Jue, and Rafa, followed by Ardian, kept walking at a not-too-fast pace cautiously as they didn't have exact information about the dungeons inside, and suddenly Ardian spoke,

"2!! No 3!! Coming from beneath."

Ryu suddenly looked towards the ground, and two mushroom-like monsters with huge mouths came out of the ground.

Ryu moved forward accompanied by Jue and Rafa, killing one each by slashing, smashing, and piercing, making short work of the three monsters.

"How did you know they were coming?"

"They had plant seeds inside those were shouting in pain,"

"Are you serious?" Ryu looked skeptical as even in the Village chief's tales. There was no such thing as talking with plants but seeing Ardian nod, he just sighed. And spoke.

"Well, either way, just tell us when they come. "

"Leave it to me," Ardian said, although his eyes were tearing as he thought,

'The plant's cries are loudest from the deepest,' but he didn't speak anything.

They continued walking inside, fighting various sorts of mushroom-like monsters and some monsters that looked like Lichens humans, and another that looked like a tree possessed by fungi acting like a Trent, although it wasn't one.

'His accuracy is way too high….' Ryu thought as he looked towards Ardian, whose face was crumpled yet lit with resolve not a single time did he miss so far from pointing at the right place from where the monsters came out,

"Ryu, watch!!" Rafa jumped on Ryu, pushing him aside from an arrow trap that suddenly activated with a step, and Ryu was shocked as he thought it was just another mushroom monster.

'If not for her, I would've been stabbed badly,' Ryu thought as he looked up at Rafa's face, who just smiled a bit and thought,

'I saved my little brother…. This time I saved my….' And suddenly, she felt a pain in her head as a few images flashed in her head.

'A huge doggy… no wolf… don't tie' Ryu, who was feeling grateful for being saved, suddenly looked concerned as he saw Rafa's face sweating profusely,

"Rafa big sister, are you fine?" he asked,

"No!! do not do that!!" Rafa shouted and hugged Ryu. Jue was confused as he asked,

"Big brother, what happened? Is big sister Rafa hurt!?"

Ryu was in no condition to reply, and noticing her condition, Ardian quickly cast his [Mint freshness] skill which was a plant-based relief skill,

"Rafa big sister, are you okay?" Ryu asked once more, and Rafa breath loudly as she whispered in Ryu's ears,

"Ryu is my little brother… I would not let it happen again" hearing her words, he felt a chill go down his spine as her voice was filled with pain and desperation.

'What happened to her?' he wondered, but thought that maintaining the hug was the best he could do for a while,

Five minutes passed. Jue was looking worried, and Ardian suddenly shouted,

"Jue 3 from there!!" and before Jue could even move and react, Rafa suddenly appeared at the pointed place, stabbing through 3 monsters with her sword in one go,

Ryu, finally free from the tight hug, took a breath and asked,

"Are you fine now? Rafa big sister" Rafa just wiped the sweat off her forehead,

"I am fine, thanks for the hug… I just saw a quick bad dream."

Ryu felt her way of talking changed a bit but decided to ignore it for the time being, and after taking a five minutes rest, they again continued towards the dungeon boss room.

Countless battles happened, but there was something weird in them. Rafa was trying to get as many monsters as possible if she was a stranger or someone they had just met, Ryu would've thought she was just trying to hoard experience, but the thing was different, especially because they were in a party,

'Just what did she see….' Thought Ryu, a bit worried about her, and Jue was pouting as he was trying to compete with Rafa for kills,

"Let me have some too!! Rafa big sister," Jue complained, and Rafa replied,

"Okay, the next three are yours, Jue."

Jue pouted more, thinking he was being treated like a kid when Ardian suddenly began crying.

"Oii idiot, what happened now?"

"Noth… Nothing!!" he replied as he wiped his tears, and Ryu complained in his mind,

'Did he get into an imaginary break-up with a plant now?' although Ryu keeps making jokes in his mind, he cannot help but think about the change in Rafa,

Soon after a few more fights with fungi monsters, they finally reached the door to the boss room. It was a wooden door that seemed hollowed from the inside and had a design of many small dots over it protruding from the wood itself,

"We will take a rest and attack the boss room after half an hour…. Is it okay" spoke Ryu, and looked towards Jue, Rafa who nodded but Ardian was lost in his thoughts, tears trickling down his cheeks,

"Oii Ardian?" spoke Ryu a bit louder and Ardian spoke,

"We cannot wait…. It is struggling inside" his voice was too low, but Ryu heard it clearly,

"What is struggling inside?" Ryu asked. He now more or less believed in Ardian's ability,

'He cannot be lying those tears…. Damn, he is crying worse than my friend when his girlfriend cheated.'

"The Core and soul of this tree," Ardian replied

'What in the hell!?' Ryu thought,

-To be continued